The two teams in the game usually have ties to that year’s Hall of Fame class. Linebackers Ray Lewis and Brian Urlacher, who spent their entire careers with the Ravens and Bears respectively, are in this year’s class.

The Hall of Fame game has experimented with different times and days in recent years, and for the second straight year the game will be on a Thursday night in Canton, Ohio.

The Hall of Fame game is typically played among backups, because it’s an extra game for both teams and neither one risks any starters in what amounts to a fifth preseason game. Still, it’s our first glimpse of football for almost six months after the Super Bowl ends, and people tune in. The game gets incredible television ratings; last year’s rating was better than most MLB and NBA playoff games.

Just think: We’re only 170 days away from seeing a football game again.

Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker (9) might get a few kicks in the Hall of Fame game on Aug. 2. (AP)